Saturday, February 06, 2010

Browser wars

I switched from Microsoft's Internet Explorer to Mozilla's Firefox several years ago and have never regretted the move.  The few times that I have had IE forced upon me because some software installation required it, I have not been impressed.  And, of course, I keep IE available on my machine for those rare websites which insist on using it.

But a few days ago Google whose search engine I don't think I could do without and whose iGoogle is my home page advertised a free download of their browser Chrome.  They advertised a significant increase in speed and total compatibility with IE and Firefox.  In just the few days I have used it I can't verify its compatibility but I can certainly vouch for the speed.  If IE goes 20 mph and Firefox goes 30 mph, I would guess that Chrome goes 90 to 100 mph.  I don't know how they do it with third party gizmos and add-ins but they do.  Has anyone else had experience with Chrome?

Another browser that looks interesting is Apple's Safari.  So far speed is not it's forte.  The interface is supposed to be graphical like iPhone and iTunes and it is supposed to evaluate your most frequent or favorite sites so they are presented for easiest access.  With the speed of Chrome I'm not sure I'll ever find out just how good Safari is.

3 comments:

  1. Arnold, when I got this new computer, I lost muy google earth, and in clicking around to get it back, I inadverdently downloaded google chrome. Ihave it but don't have a clue as to how to use it.

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  2. Chrome is awesome, it is my browser of choice. Some great extensions:
    Adblock (gets rid of internet ads) - https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/gighmmpiobklfepjocnamgkkbiglidom

    WOT (web of trust, lets you know if that link you are clicking is computer/kid safe) - https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/bhmmomiinigofkjcapegjjndpbikblnp

    This browser is extremely fast and I am finding the extensibility really taking off and catching up to the ability to customize of FireFox.

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  3. Figured I would also mention that I am not a big fan of Safari, you are welcome to try it out but I find it has the same basic issues as most of Apple product for me. It is too closed source and not containing some of the customization features of other browsers.

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